Samak Sundaravej

Samak Sundaravej (13 June 1935-24 November 2009) was Prime Minister of Thailand from 29 January to 9 September 2008, succeeding Surayud Chulanont and preceding Somchai Wongsawat. He was a member of the People's Power Party.

Biography
Samak Sundaravej was born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1935 to a family of Chinese descent. He joined the Democrat Party of Thailand in 1968, and he became head of the party's right-wing faction due to his strong ties to the military. He supported the 1976 Thammasat University massacre, calling the student demonstrators "disloyal communists". He went on to serve as Interior Minister from 1976 to 1977, and he founded the Thai Citizens' Party in 1979. He served as Governor of Bangkok from 2000 to 2004, and, in 2007, he joined the People's Power Party, becoming a proxy for the exiled Thaksin Shinawatra. He was removed from power in 2008 for deciding to continue his personal cooking show during his premiership, violating the law that a Prime Minister could not have any other paid jobs while serving. Samak died a year later.